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Although baccalaureate degrees in occupational therapy are available at some institutions, the entry standard for practice in the field of occupational therapy is shifting to the master's degree. The University of Alabama does not offer a baccalaureate degree in occupational therapy but does provide programs of study appropriate for entry into master's programs. A student with such an interest may combine degree programs leading to a variety of majors and minors with entrance requirements for master's programs in occupational therapy.

An appropriate example is the master's degree program at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). In the UAB program, an applicant who holds a baccalaureate degree in a field other than occupational therapy must have completed an undergraduate program that includes (a) 3 semester hours of expressive arts/media (i.e., theatre, art, music, dance, photography); (b) 15 semester hours of arts and humanities electives (i.e., public speaking, English, foreign languages, or philosophy); (c) 9 semester hours of social and behavioral sciences electives (i.e., sociology, psychology, or anthropology); (d) 3 semester hours of abnormal psychology (PY 358); (e) 3 semester hours of developmental psychology (PY 352); (f) 8 semester hours of human anatomy and physiology (BSC 215 and BSC 216); (g) 3 semester hours of statistics (PY 211 or ST 260); (h) 4 semester hours of electives in chemistry, mathematics, physics, biology, or computer programming; and (i) 2 semester hours of medical terminology (BSC 201). An applicant must also have a minimum GPA of 3.0 for the last 60 hours of coursework; a minimum GPA of 3.0 in the prerequisites; and a Graduate Record Exam score of at least 500 on each section or a Miller Analogies Test score of 50. The sample curriculum below is a guide.

Students interested in the pre–occupational therapy program should contact the health professions advisor in 200 Clark Hall at (205) 348-5902 for additional information and assistance.